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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Purists are going to hate me, but things went wrong and all I had was some aging, orange Gatorade. So, I used it. Spinach has never tasted so good.(BONUS: This smoothie turns your teeth and tongue blue!) Thanks to every healthy-living guru who has ever touched a computer, we all know that for optimum health, one must drink smoothies for breakfast. Since I planted roughly 600 spinach seeds last fall and we had a mild, wet winter, about 20 of them grew. Waste not, want not!I couldn't bring myself to actually eat the spinach, so I bought some frozen blueberries and vanilla ice cream. Orange Julius, at the mall, blends blueberries and a big scoop of ice to make the smoothies I buy there. By twisting their concept, I thought frozen blueberries would...

Thursday, April 14, 2016

As a small farm owner, I can say this is probably true in most places.

When I have discussed growing schedules with restaurant owners, one big problem is: if you buy locally, you will be eating the same thing all summer. How many squash specials can they sell every week? Additionally, all the restaurants would be serving squash all summer. Seasonal veggies last the whole season. And if it's a good okra year, all the farms will have plenty, and all the farms will be having a bad tomato year simultaneously. Americans no longer eat things they don't like just because that's what's available. Try getting somebody to have a radish special because that's what's growing well this week.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Growing plants, herbs and vegetables especially, in a window is quintessentially charming, but can it be done? How much of a hassle is it to water, trim, turn etc?

Radishes planted the same day. See what I'm saying?

Take a lesson from NASA and start with the vegetables that are easiest to grow. Even seasoned gardeners have to relearn some things when they are growing in a new environment, so start with the can't-be-killed vegetables first:

Lettuce - NASA started with lettuce for it's Growing Vegetables In Space Program. Lettuce germinates in a day. You should have sprouts in 2-3 days. You can start harvesting the lettuce in about 3 weeks. The astronauts on the space station harvested theirs at 33 days. It wilts when it's thirsty, so you have some warning before it's dead. Of coarse, that's if everything goes right. If you don't...

Saturday, April 9, 2016

What to plant in April:EVERYTHING!!Here's a breakdown:If it's still cold, plant cole crops.

If it's not going to frost again and you are cheap, direct seed your entire summer crop now. If you want to get a jump, buy bedding plants. Here is one of the most boring videos ever (mine) about how to plant tomato plants. And here is Bonnie Plant's video about it. (Hi Bonnie!)